


Remember Who?

by pandakitty



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Dave Strider Mentioned, Dirk Strider Mentioned, John Egbert Mentioned - Freeform, Rose Lalonde Mentioned, Roxy Lalonde Mentioned, alternate universe - homestuck
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-17
Updated: 2017-11-23
Packaged: 2018-04-15 02:53:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 22
Words: 21,709
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4590297
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pandakitty/pseuds/pandakitty
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For two long years, Bro Strider had believed he was losing his mind when he started having dreams of a blonde haired, red eyed boy. Between this dreams and the feeling that he was forgetting something, is Bro really losing his mind? Or is it something else? Who is this blonde boy that Bro had been seeing? What is their connection? You know and I know. But will Bro ever figure it out? And if he does, what will he do?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Blonde Haired, Red Eyed Boy

**Author's Note:**

> Remember Who? is a Homestuck fanfic based off this idea I had where all the guardians (Beta and Alpha) aren't really dead. They were still killed but instead of actually dying, they are placed onto a different version of Earth in a Non-Sburb universe with all of their memories of the kids and each other are erased. Now, this will mainly be following Bro but we will run into the other guardians, and maybe have a chapter or two out of their POV.
> 
> Also, sorry if the characters are a bit OOC.

Bro wasn't sure when it started. The strange feeling that he was missing something. The dreams. The image of a blonde boy wearing a pair of round aviator shades which hid scarlet red eyes. Bro didnt remember when it started but it wouldn't go away. And it was started to get worse. 

One of the strange things that happened was that Bro normally slept right through rain storms. But since the dreams and images started in his head, he would find himself waking up to the sound of soft foot steps running through the apartment and a whimpering voice calling for him. When he'd wake up, there was a heavy feeling on his tongue, there was something he was gonna stay but now that he was awake, he couldn't remember.

Maybe it was a name, maybe not. But he wanted to know. It could be the name of the kid that has been haunting him.

But it didn't stop with hearing the kid's voice. Sometimes, he'd hear music coming from the back of the apartment in the empty bedroom. Bro wasn't even sure why there were two bedroom in the apartment. He's always living alone.

It didnt just stop at hearing things. Sometimes, outside the apartment, he'd get this feeling like he needed to get something that he didn't like or normal get. At the grocery store, he would make a complete stop in front of the apple juice, instead of the orange crush he normal got.

He'd consider going to see a therapist. People have been calling him crazy since since was he was in school, maybe they were right. But he never was able to make himself to call in for an appointment. He would be sitting at the kitchen table, his phone being held up against his cheek byt his shoulder. He would wait while it rang but the moment someone picked up, he knew he was going the wrong thing. And he would hang up before even talking.

Finally, after a while, one thing changed. The whiny voice during storms stopped. At first, he thought that strange things had stopped all together but not long after the whiny voice disappeared, a slightly deeper voice would come screaming from the empty bedroom. And he would be up and out of his bed the second it rang through the apartment. He would ran down the hall and would be right at the door, just about to open it before he remembered. He lived alone. He always lived alone.

Bro wasn't sure how much more he could take.

It had been nearly two years since the whole thing started when he finally got one answer. He was up on the roof, shadow training with his sword when he completely froze. It was like time had stopped- no. It didnt stop, it slowed down. Everything was in slow motion like in the moives. A crow slowly landed onto the ac unit, looking at him. Staring at him. Then, there was a sharp pain in his chest that made him drop one knee. He eyes stung as he stared down at where his sword was pressed into the roof. Sharp yelling filled his hearing but it sounding much more like a bird. Then he heard it. It was the whimpering voice but slightly different but it was still calling for him. And this time he knew the name he had been trying to call for the last two years.

"Dave!"


	2. One Answer Lends To More Questions

Bro was sitting up in his bed, beads of sweat ran down his face and his chest. His gloveless hands were holding his head, gripping his hair tightly. Dave… Dave…. Dave…. That was the boy’s name. But who was he? Bro groaned and fell back on his bed. He knew that boy. Somehow. And he was going to figure it out.

A couple of days later, he was standing in front of the door to the room that he had never gone into. He didn't think it would help much but maybe he could remember more things about Dave. He drew a sharp breath, his chest was hurting again. He set his hand on the door knob and pushed the door open.

He knew that room was bare, but that’s not what his eyes saw. Inside, there was a bed, another set of turntables. There were two desks, one were pressed against the wall by the window and the other was across the room with a computer on it. There were a lot of wires on the floor, running from one side of the room to the other. And over the bed, there was a wire that had a couple of pictures on it.

Bro set down on the floor where he saw the bed, resting his back against the wall and looked around the room.

There was a website pulled up on the computer. Bro stood and looked at it. There was a comic pulled up, Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff. Bro’s eyes narrowed and he pulled out his phone, typing the title of the comic in.

That was familiar. That title. He had seen it before. He knows he has. Once his phone loaded, his eyes widened at the first link.

“Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff: The Movie By David Strider”

Now that Bro knew where he knew the title from, he searched the director. David Strider. Dave Strider. God, what was happening? He pressed his back against the wall and slid down to sit on the floor, strolling through the results. He froze at the picture that he found. He looked just like the kid in Bro’s dreams.

The blonde hair, pale skin with light freckles and the round aviator shades. He even had the the blank face. Bro clinked through a couple of links and it led him to a chat room called Pesterchum. And it seems like David had one.

Bro shook his head to himself. He couldn't do this, he couldn’t start calling to this guy just because he had a few weird dreams. But he did make a pester, timaeusTestified [TT]. Once that was does, he quickly clicked out of the site before he did message him. Bro looked around the room once more before nearly running out of the room. He needed a drink.


	3. Meanwhile, in Hollywood

Another blonde with reflective shades was at desk, his hands tangled in his hair. He was close to pulling it out. He groaned, all but slamming his head down to the desk. Reaching across the paper covered desk, he grabbed his phone and punched in a number, not having to look. Holding the phone to his ear, he mumbled softly to himself about his head hurting.

“What is it David? You know I have a deadline.” The voice was gentle, there was no upset or impatience behind the words.

“They’re doing it again Rosaline.” David mumbled into the speaker, finally sitting up in his leather chair, rubbing his red forehead. “They’re trying to make more changes.”

On the other line, a woman with near white hair set in front of a computer, the phone tucked between her cheek and her shoulder while her fingers rested above the keys. She hummed lightly, pushing away from the spot, her own chair rolled across the room. She stopped once she was near the wall, her legs crossed and her empty hand lifting a page from the calendar. 

“Again? I thought you said they approved everything.” Rosaline wasn’t surprised by her friend’s problems. She had been listening to them since they were kids, even if the topic always changed. At least, till the other became a director, the problems was almost always the same.

“They did! And now they decided they want to change it again!” David sighed, slamming his head back against the chair. A yawn slipped past his lips and he rubbed his eye, pushing up his shades for a moment.

“And from the sound of it, you haven't been sleeping either.” David’s sudden lack of sleep as Rosaline worried. There have been times where he big shot movie director thought it would be good to pull a few all nighters but she knew it didn't have to do with the script. And he wouldn't tell her.

“Yeah.. those dreams have been getting weird.” He let his eyes slip shut and slid down in his chair. There was always a spiky blonde teen with dumb pointy anime shades. And for the past month it was like he was watching the kid grow up. First a baby sucking on a My Little Pony plushie. Then a little kid running around a house that was almost familiar. Then the kid cute turned to a silent, complete wreck of a teen that built robots. 

“You mean more stranger than before?” David hummed in reply to the question. “Yeah. He finally looked away from the hunk of metal and looked at me. Like, looked at me. Like I was there. And he called me bro…”

Rosaline chewed on her lip for a moment. She herself have started to have a series of unsettling dreams. A girl, looking shocking similar to her beside the eyes and the curl in her hair. “Roxy…” She whispered the name she had learn a few nights ago.

“What was that?” David had brought her out of her thoughts, thankfully he didn’t hear her. “Oh, nothing David.” She cleared her throat before talking again. “I was just thinking. You need a vacation.”

A dry laugh met her ears a moment after she was done talking. “A vacation? Yeah, sure Rosaline. You’re not the only one with a deadline.”

Shaking her head, Rosaline moved back to her computer. “I’m going to pretend you didn't compare the two David. And I know you, even with this set back, you’ll be able to finish that script and start the cameras in at least half a mouth. And you’re deadline isn't for another three months. you can take a few days off.”

David fell quiet as he listened to the other. It was more than likely that he could get everything done even with a few days off. “I hate it when you’re right. But you still have one blank spot. Where would I go?”

A shiver ran down his spine at the light chuckle that Rosaline let out. “Why don’t you go home? You haven’t been there since you moved out here. It could help you unwind.”

David set up a bit, thoughts running through his head. It had been a while since he been back home. A small smile formed on his face as he started packing his papers. “Alright, Rosaline, i’ll take you up on the idea.”

Rosaline sighed softly and glanced over at the clock and saved her writing, moving to the bed. “Alright good. Call me when you get there then try and relax. And sleep.”

David huffed lightly, grabbing his things while heading to the door. “Yes mom.” They both shared a light laugh before hanging up. David walked out of the office and out to his car, sighing softly when he got in. 

Back home… He thought as he drove to his house. Maybe this is a good thing.


	4. I'm surprised that you didn’t recognize me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: smoking

This music sucked. Bro had decided that coming here was a huge waste of time but he enjoyed it a lot more than being home, alone, with his thoughts. The entire room was filled with smoke, making it a bit more difficult to see, even with his shades. And the music they were playing was terrible.

Bro groaned, waving the bartender over, refilling his glass. The drinks were helping a bit but not enough and not as quick as he’d like. He knew that he shouldn’t be drinking, not when he had to drive home but that thought had been pushed to the back of his mind. 

Normally, he would be out dancing, seeing which one of the dancers he could get close to for the night but not tonight. Even with the drinks, he still had only one thing on his mind. He groaned, lowering his head to the table and took a deep breath of the smoky air through his nose and let it out through his mouth. This was not helping at all.

“You gonna pass out? If so, can I have your glass?” A voice came from the side. Bro turned his head to the side to stare at the person from behind his shades. It was a guy. Bro chucked and set up, wincing lightly when he felt his back tighten up. 

“No way dude, I don’t pass out. I’m a Strider.” He narrowed his eyes from behind his shades, trying to make out the figure in front of him. He wasn’t sure if the other’s looks but he could see the near white blonde hair and if he was right, there were a pair of shades resting on the others nose. Bro winced lightly as the image of the one he was trying to forget flashed across his eyes.

“A Strider?” There was a hint of confusion and shock in the stranger’s voice. Bro lifted an eyebrow and hummed, lending back in the chair. “Yeah. What’s got you so shocked?” 

There was a nervous laugh before the other shifted to sit down next to him, setting down his own glass. “It’s nothing. Just never heard of anyone with the same last name as me.” Bro’s eyes widened, glad that he shades covered them. “Oh.”

They fell into an awkward silence, drinking their drinks before the other started digging through his jacket. “Shit… hey, do you have an smokes?” Bro turned his head and blinked a bit. “Yeah… I have some in my truck.”

They pushed away from the counter and pushed their way through the moving bodies on the dancefloor and out of the bar. Bro sighed once they opened the doors and he took in a deep breath of the clean air.

He glanced over and nearly choked on the breath he took, finally able to see the other. Oh shit… He looked just like Dave… No no, it was just his imagination.

“S-So, what is your name?”

He chuckled and looked at Bro as he opened the door to the truck. “David Strider. A bit surprised that you didn’t recognize me.” Bro closed his eyes and grabbed his cigarette boxes, taking out of two and handed one to David. “I did..”

The smile on David’s face slipped a bit but he just chuckled and lit his cigarette and let out a puff of smoke. “Dirk…”

“What was that?” Bro asked, glancing over at him. David chuckled and shook his head. “Nothing. What’s your name?”

“Derrick.”


	5. I'm Surprised That You Didnt Recognize Me David's POV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is David's POV of Chapter Four. I'm not sure when I'lll do this thing with the alternate chapters but I'm sure there will be more in the future. 
> 
> ((TW: Smoking, Mentions of Death))

After getting home, David shrugged off of his jacket and sighed, kicking off his shoes and he grabbed his phone and called his editor. It took a while to explain why he was taking a so sudden vacation like this but he finally got his schedule clear for the next few days. 

Packing a few clothes, David pulled on a pair of black jeans and a plain white shirt along with a red jacket. Looking in the mirror, he found that he could pass for a tall teenage. Chuckling, David grabbing his bags and left his house, going to his car and drove to the airport

 

It wasn’t to difficult to get a last second plane ticket to Taxes. And thankfully, no one recognized him. Less now he knew what he had to wear when he wasn’t to go out. With his money, he was able to get a first class ticket, letting him sit in the silence. Once they were leveled, David pulled his laptop out and logged into Pesterchum, smiling when he saw his friends were on. 

It seemed that one of them noticed him already because he got a pester just a moment later.

\--ectoBiologist [EB] began pestering turntechGodhead [TG]--

EB: hey dave!!  
EB: what’s up?  
EB: finish your script?

David chuckled softly to himself and shook his head. He make look like a teenager but John acted like one.

TG: no i didnt  
TG: rosa talked me into taking a vacation

EB: really?!!  
EB: that sounds like rosa. i swear, she’s like your mom.

TG: if i had a say rosa is more like my sis then a mom

EB: hmmm yeah. that sounds more right. so how have you been?

TG: been better been more wanted to strangle myself with this stupid tie more then normal

EB: gosh that bad?

TG: you have no idea  
TG: anyway what about you  
TG: hows your stand up comedy going

EB: its going great!!  
EB: and casey started school a couple of days ago!

TG: woah really  
TG: thats great  
TG: ...as she asked

EB: no.. not yet.

TG: do you know what youre gonna tell her

EB: no i dont. :( i didnt think it would be so hard.

TG: you know were here to help you  
TG: you dont have to raise her alone

EB: yeah i know. anyway!! where are are you going

TG: heh texas

EB: never thought youd go back there. well, have fun dave.  
EB: later!!!

TG: see ya Egbert

\--turntechGodhead [TG] ceased pestering ectoBiologist [EB]--

David hummed, shutting his laptop before pulling his headphones on and lend back against his sit. It felt nice being a 1000 feet up in the air. It wasn’t long before a low sound of the violin met his ears and a smile formed on his face. Rosa was always good with the violin.

 

David was back in the somewhat familiar apartment. Looking around the messy living room, it found it missing one thing. Dirk. A wave of uncontrollable panic rushed through him as he began looked through the apartment. Clicking the small kitchen, bathroom and bedroom, he found them all empty.

After turning the apartment upside down, David returned to the living room and set down on the couch, burying his head into his hands. What was going on? Why was he so worried.

“Bro?” A voice cut clean through the thick silences, making him look up. The boy was standing up the doorway, pointy anime shades still rested on his nose. A sword was in his hand, David would have been laughing had he not just been freaking out.

David opened his mouth, trying to say something but nothing came out. He never talked to him before, he was almost always working on the robots. This was… something completely different. 

“I-.” Once he finally found his voice, he was cut of by the sound of the metal of the sword hitting the floor and in a flash, Dirk was clinging to him, arms wrapped around his neck. He froze for a moment before wrapped his arms tightly around the smaller figure and held him.

This didn’t feel like a dream. It felt real. How could this feel so real?

“Bro… I thought you were dead.” Dirk mumbled into his chest, tears rolling down his cheeks and soaked into David’s shirt.

“Why would you-.. I’m not dead. I’m here.” He buried his face into Dirk’s hair and sighed. It was just a dream. Just a dream. Just a dream. Just a dream. Just a-

 

David jerked up when the plane started descending, panting heavily. 

“Welcome everyone to Houston Texas. We’d like to thank you for flying our airline and hope you enjoyed the flight and enjoy your stay. Again, welcome to Houston Texas.”

He looked down at his arms and swallowed thickly, finding a knot in his throat. He blinked quickly, trying not to let the tears fall. He wasn’t crying over a dream. But then… why did his arms feel so empty.

~~~~~

David was quick to get off the plane and find his bags. He ended up having to call a taxi since he didn’t think about scheduling one to pick him up beforehand. He gave the driver the address for the hotel, paid and left. It was an easy ride and he didn’t get killed like in one of those badly scripted TV shows. 

He checked up and took his key before heading up to his room. Unlocking the door, he walked it and dropped the bag, pressing his back against the door roughly and sighed, running his fingers through his hair.

His hands still felt a little tingly and numb and his head was killing him. Picking up his bag again, he shifted closer to the bed and set down, looking through the bag. Sighing lightly, he pulling out a bottle of painkillers and knocked one out of the bottle, shoving it back of the bag before he did anything stupid. David swallowed it dry before laying back against the bed.

He was home. the place he hadn’t been for years. He didn’t want the spend the time laying in his room. Pulling his phone from his pocket and dialed Rosa’s number. It came to a voicemail. Rosa always answered her phone..

“Hey Rosa… I just go to my hotel room. Call me back when you can.”

He didn’t want to bother her with his dreams but this one shakened him up a lot more then he wanted to admit. It scared him.

Sighing, he set up and shoved his phone back into his pocket and stood. He grabbed his wallet and left his room. He walked down the street, his head low. He mind kept flipping back and forth between the dream and memories he had from when he grew up from here.

He stopped when he found a bar. What the heck? Maybe a few drinks would help. He showed the bouncer his ID before walking it. Coughing, his lungs quickly adjusted to the smoky air of the club.

Immediately, he walked back the crowded dance floor and went to the bar. He ordered a glass of rum before walking to the few tables, finding someone with their head on the table. He chuckled softly and walked to them.

“You gonna pass out? If so, can I have your glass?” 

He didn’t want their glass, he had his own but it was funny watching them sit up quickly. His grip on the glass tighten a bit when he saw the other’s type of shades. “No way dude, I don’t pass out. I’m a Strider.” David was slightly taken back before laughing a bit nervous and set of. “It’s nothing. Just never heard of anyone with the same last name as me.” David spoke calmly despite his shakiness. “Oh.”

They set in silence for a bit. David coughed again and started looking through his jacket. The smoke was getting to him. “Shi… hey, do you have an smokes?” He asked, looking over at the other. ““Yeah… I have some in my truck.”

They stood and moved through the crowed before stepping outside. He sighed and glanced over when he saw the other look at him. “S-So, what is your name?”

David chuckled and looked at him before opening passenger door of truck. “David Strider. A bit surprised that you didn’t recognize me.” He sighed and took the cigarette, pulling out his lighter, lighting the cigarette and took a long drag of it.

“I did..”

David let out the puff of smoke as the smile started to slipped. “Dirk…”

“What was that?” Bro asked, glancing over at him. David chuckled and shook his head. “Nothing. What’s your name?”

“Derrick.”


	6. Flashback

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ((TW: Past deaths, past abuse))
> 
> My god I am so sorry how long its been since I posted. I love writing but lately, I havent been feeling up to it and I didnt want it to feel forced. I wanted to be something I enjoy doing, which it is. 
> 
> Happy Thanksgiving! to all of my readers that have it coming up.

They set in silence for a bit before Bro looked over at David. He was facing the window, chewing on his lip before putting the cigarette back between his lips. Bro sighed before sticking his own into the ashtray. “So, what’s a big shot movie director like yourself doing here?”

David didn’t respond immediately. He let out another puff of smoke before putting it out in the ashtray and sighed. “I was stress out about my movie that I had to finish writing the script to start filming in three months and I needed a break. My friend told me to come home, take some time off.”

Bro couldn’t help but laugh, tilting his head back against the headrest of the driver seat, a small smirk on his face. “Home? You mean you grew up here?” 

David swallowed lightly before giving a small smile in return and nodded. “Yeah, I did…” He fell silent as the memories returned. Bro noticed and the smirk spilled away to his normal blank expression. “Something wrong?”

“No... Just a few unhappy memories came back for a second.”

Bro’s lips straightened out into a line and he glanced out his window, thoughts running through his head. Should he ask him about it? Would that be pushing to much? Probably. God, why was he double guessing himself on this? Of course he wasn't gonna ask. He couldn’t. It didnt have anything to do with him…

“I don’t mind talking about it.”

Bro’s head snapped back, looking at him with covered wide eyes. “W-wha.. You don’t have too. I’m sure you dont want to talk about them.” Bro knew what it was like with memories that you didnt want to share but felt bad when you didnt. For a moment, a pair of emerald eyes flashed across his vision. 

Feeling a light burn in his eyes, Bro quickly shook his head before looking over at David with an obviously forced smile. 

“It’s fine Derrick… I don’t mind talking about it.” David smiled before leaning back against the seat. “When I lived here, I didn’t have the best home live…”

 

“David!” A woman’s voice crying as the sting of the belt shot through the child’s small body over and over again. “Mama!” The boy cried, only to have the back of a hand met his cheek, sending him back to the floor. “Shut up brat!” The man above him screamed, kicking him in the stomach before stumbling over to his mom, repeating the same thing to her before staggering up the stairs and slammed the door.

David laid there, motionless, for a moment before his mom picked up his sore body and held him close, tears running down her cheeks and soaked his hair. He snuggled closer against the safe warmth which slowly lulled him to sleep.

He woke up to a warm wetness on his forehead. He struggled to open his eyes, wincing at the bright light. Through his slightly cracked eyes, his saw a blurry figure, white hair. He gave a weak smile when his felt his hand being squeezed.

“About time you woke up.”

Rosaline tried to joke but there was still worry in her voice, along with sadness. Immediately, David tried to set up, only to be lightly pushed down by another pair of hands. “David, you are still healing you must rest.” He looked over, seeing the face of one of Rosaline’s housemaids.

“Where’s my mama!?” David yelled, struggling, looking back and forth between them. 

Rosaline was quiet as the maid started to explain. “You and your mother had internal bleeding, David. Your stopped on its own but her’s… David your mother is gone.” He stared at her before screaming and yelling as tears flooded his eyes. 

He collapsed into Rosaline’s arms, the first time of something that would happen for years to come.

 

“..Then, I lived with Rosaline till we graduated high school, then we went to different colleges, I went to California and she went to New York..” David explained, rubbing his eyes dry from the tears.

Bro was quiet for a while before a dark chuckle left him. “It’s ironic..” He mumbled, looking down at his lap. “Not only do we share a last name,” Finally, he looked up at David.

“But we also lost our moms to a monster.”


	7. He Needed Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, I'm not use when the next one with be up. I love this story, I really do, I just have no idea as to where it could possibly go. But dont worry, I wont be leaving it, I just need some time to think of some ideas. Though, if any of you have something in mind, you can always message me on Tumblr, ask-dersian-protectorofthevoid. It is an Ask blog but it isnt a bit deal.

David stared at the other, his eyes widening behind his shades at Derrick’s words. This was getting strange. This was like something straight out of Rosa’s books. “What do you mean?”

Bro lowered his head a bit before slowly pulling his shades off and set them in the cup holder. He was hesitant about looking up, about letting David see his eyes. But if this was like what he thought it was, he wasn't the only one with mutant eyes. After a moment of silence, Bro looked up, his bright orange eyes cut through the dark as if they were glowing.

David stucked in a shark breath, pulling his bottom lip in and held it between his teeth. His eyes… were fucking gorgeous. He never seen another pair of orange eyes since-... Since his dream on the plane. Now, everything seemed to tie itself together. When Bro was wearing the dorky, pointy anime shades, David would have brushed it off as just coincidence. But now, he couldnt lie to himself about this.

With the gravity defying hair that pulled back into spikes and the auburn eyes, Bro looked just like an older version of Dirk. How was that possible? It was just a dream right?

David was so far into his thoughts that he almost jumped when Bro started to talk again.

“I know you have similar eyes to mine. Only, they’re red.”

How could he know that? Only one person knew his eyes and that was Rosa. Not even the press knew about that. “How did you know about my eyes?” David lowered his hand to the door handle, ready to bolt if necessary but he didnt believe that Bro was going to hurt him. He had the chance to do so for a while now so he knew that he wouldnt wait this long. But maybe he was a stalker. How else would he have known?

“I’m not crazy, I swear.” Wonderful Bro, because that’s the best way to start an explanation. “But I’ve seen you in my dreams. Well, not you. A younger you. Dave. With the same hairstyle and same shades and the same pair of ruby red eyes.”

David’s eyes widened even more and now, he was frozen in the seat. Dream? Bro had dreams of a younger version of him while David had dreams about a younger Bro? This had gone past weird and went straight to creepy.

“I know you think I;m crazy but really I’m not! I dont know what’s going on but-”

“What did he call you?” David cut Bro off, his suddenly uncovered eyes started into Bro’s, for a moment both their worlds changed to a different color. “What did my younger, dreamself call you?”

“B-Bro. Why?”

Shit. Shit shit shit! How is these possible? This cant be real.

“You were just a dream!” David yelled, jumping out of the truck and ran his fingers through his hair, grabbing onto it tightly. “This isnt real. You can’t be real. It was just a dream!” He mumbled to himself over and over again.

Immediately, Bro was at his side, gently pulling his hands away from his hair. He was so calm as he tried to help David calm down, everything came to him as a second nature. Bro stared down at David for a moment before pulling him into a hug. David returned it a moment later.

“I saw you too Derrick. Only, he’s name was Dirk. But he looked just liked you… He was so lost. I didnt understand but he looked like he needed me.” David mumbled, his face growing pale as his stomach started to shift. Bro nodded as he kept one arm around David, holding him up.

“I know. In my dreams, Dave would come running to my door whenever there was a thunderstorm, screaming as if it was going to hurt him.” Bro gave a small chuckle, hoping it would help David.

“Being alone in a storm, it’s a lot scarier than it sounds. Derrick..?” He started to stay, his hand grabbed Bro’s forearm as a sharp pain hit him in the back of the head and just like that, he was on his knees and he could taste all the drinks he had back at the bar.

Bro barely moved out of the line of fire in time as he rubbed David’s back, trying to hold back the facial expressions. Once he was done, Bro helped him up and back into the truck and he get in. “Here.” He handed David his shades as he started the truck and started driving back to his apartment. If things got bad, they’ll talk about it in the morning, once they both were rested.

It was a bit of a struggle getting David up the stairs but Bro finally did it before laying him on the futon. He set both of their shades on the coffee table before pulling off David’s jacket and shoes, grabbing a blanket and covered him up.

He was about to head to his bed when David started tossing and turning, muttering in his sleep. Bro sighed before pulling off his shirt and jeans, crawling onto the futon and hugged David close, smiling when he felt the other relax. It was strange sleeping like that, he hadnt shared a bed with someone in a non sexual way in a long time.

Bro started to dream of those emerald eyes again but they soon shifting to the ruby red he had come to find comforting.


	8. New York

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: mentions on mental illnesses, mentions on depressions, mentions of anxiety

Roxanne Lalonde. Mostly known among the science community as the drunk. Or the crazy cat lady. And nothing she did seemed to change their minds. How could she? She did have past problems, and current problems with her hallucinations and panic attacks. But she was determined to change something. Somehow.

Roxanne had checked out as many books on hallucinations she could, going through all of them looking for anything that was similar to what she had been through. She had already gone to a therapist, told them everything that had happened. She had borderline depression along with anxiety and insomnia but nothing that could make up for her hallucinations.

They didnt make any sense to her. She only time she saw or heard something when she was within her home. She would see a young girl, her hair was a pale shade of blonde with eyes of vibrant flowers. Most of the time, it was most like Roxanne was just an observer, just there to watch the girl move between drawing to writing to chatting on the computer.

Her whole life, Roxanne never once thought that this was all that was out there. Her entire childhood she would write down all her idea about what she thought what could be out there. It ranged from aliens to a parallel universe. And even if her problems were putting a strain on her career, Roxanne thought there was something she could learn about this girl. 

There have been many times Roxanne wouldn’t leave her house, due to try and avoid the stares from her colleagues and have to listen to the hush whispers. She knew that they said. She heard them all before. She needed to get her work done and she could do everything within her home. 

Today, was one of those days. Roxanne had everything she needed for the day. A nice warm glass of coffee, with a bottle of vodka sitting on the floor beside the couch for when the coffee was gone. Her books were on the other side of her and her notes were scattered across the table. Her laptop was resting on her legs, as he switched back and forth between her books and the websites.

Her hair was a mess, having not slept the night before, just tossed and turned in her bed for a few hours before getting up to start her work. She had been writing down everything she found about people who also had hallucinations but none of them sounds like what she had. 

She groaned in frustration, setting her laptop on the table and laid back against the couch, rubbing her eyes. This was slowly starting to get the better of her. There must be something she was missing. Something small. Something-.

Her train of thought was cut off by a sharp knock on the door. Who…

No one came to see her. None of her coworkers, wanted to spend time with her at the lab, even if she was one of the most smartest in their group. And she didnt really talk to many people outside of her work. So, who was at her door?

She set her laptop to the side and stood, walking to the door and opened it.

Standing on the other side, was a man, looked like he was in his mid 20’s, with a fedora sitting on his head, lending down just a bit to cover his eyes. Roxanne could see a bit of black hair underneath the hat. And in his hands, was a nicely sized cake.

Roxanne didn’t know him, but she knew of him. He owned a bakery next to a coffee shop where Roxanne would sometimes find herself early in the morning. But, why was he here?

“Hello.” Roxanne spoke up, not wanting to stand in the strange silence anymore. Her voice was a bit rocky, having spent nearly two days by herself.

“Good morning, Ms. Lalonde.” The man smiled at her. A sharp pain formed in the back of her head, causing her to reach back to rub her head. “I know this is quite unnecessary but, I haven't seen you at the coffee shop lately and I wasn't sure if you were sick or something. So I baked a cake. Which.. now that I think about it, probably wasn't the best idea if you were sick.” A pale pink dusted over his cheeks, pulling a light smile from Roxanne’s lips.

“Thank you. No, I’m not ill, just been working on a project that I have to do at home so I haven't been out lately.” Roxanne knew most likely that if he knew the real reason she was trying not to go to the lab, he would avoid her just the same. 

“Oh! Well, now this just seems silly.” Roxanne was quick to reassure him, shaking her head quickly. “No no. It was really sweet.” She smiled and held out her hands, letting him slide the cake into her hands. “Though, this is a far too large cake for a single person, why don’t you come in and have a slice with me?”

He smiled and nodded, following her into the house. His eyes widened when he saw just how big and nice it was. Sure his house was nice but this was amazing. “My goodness, where are my manners? I am Mr. Egbert but James is perfectly fine.” He spoke, watching her cute the cake from the doorway of the kitchen.

Roxanne just nodded, setting the two slices onto two separate plates. “Well, Roxanne is perfectly fine for me.” James nodded, sitting down in front of her. Maybe, having someone over wasn't to bad. Maybe, if Roxanne tried, she could keep her problems a secret and have an actual… friendship?

It would seem so.


	9. Cake Fights and New Family?

Surprisingly, Roxanne found herself having a lot more fun than she first thought. They talked, slowly getting to know each other over cake. James had much more of a most exciting personal life, having being in a rivalry with his older cousin, Jacob. Turns out that James’ whole family is really into baking. Roxanne had never been really big on baking but she was always one for well baked sweets.

That's how they got to here, in the kitchen both covered in flour and and the entire kitchen was a mess. Roxanne laughed and rubbed the flour from her face and looked at James. “What were we making again?” She asked, her lips curled into a smile.

“A cake, if I remember correctly.” James laughed, looking around at the mess they made. They were suppose to be adults but this was much more fun, and familiar. Both of them knew that there was something painfully familiar about the situation but neither one of them would mention it, in fear it would ruin the whole evening.

Evening?

James glanced over at the clock, his eyes widening when he found that it was nearly 10:30. “Oh! I’m sorry but I didnt realize how late it was and I should really go-..”

“You can stay.”

The moment those words let her mouth, Roxanne’s face when bright red, which clashed with her pink eyes in a beautiful way. She turned away from him, starting to clean up the counter and put the dishes in the sink. “Ignore that. Please. I didn’t mean-” She was cut off by a pair of lips on her cheek, her blush darkening where it was almost visible underneath all the flour. 

“It’s quite alright Roxanne. If it’s alright with you, I would enjoy spending more time with you. Is it possible for us to grab coffee or something?”

Roxanne smiled and nodded. “That would be lovely.” They stood there in silence for another moment, both smiling. She definitely didnt think that a simple action of a worried person could be so impactful.

James coughed before grabbing a towel from the counter and rubbed off the flour from his face and hands. “If you need so help cleaning up, I can stay.”

“Oh no, that won’t be necessary. I have everything under control. You head home.” Roxanne followed him out of the kitchen and to the door. “Thank you James, for everything.” He looked at her with a confused look but he didnt say anything. Instead, he pressed his lips against her forehead before stepping away and heading to his car. 

Roxanne sighed before shutting the door and returned to the kitchen. She cleaned with a smile on her face, feeling much happier than she had in a long time. Her mind was racing, not able to stay on one topic at the moment. So when she started walking up the stairs, she was startled when she saw the girl again.

That was when Roxanne’s scientist mood came out and immediately she started trying to form questions but her voice wouldn’t work. 

The girl looked different, instead of in her normal skirt and white shirt, she was wearing a yellow and orange outfit, a hood pulled over her head. She stared at Roxanne with her surprisingly dull, purple eyes.

“W-Who are you?” Roxanne stuttered out, his eyes still wide. This couldn’t be happening. She couldn’t actually be talking to her hallucinations. But she had to find out what was going on. 

“...” The girl was silent, only bowing her head as her shoulders started to shake. “Rose…” She finally whispered, still not looking up.

“Rose… What do you want? Why are you in my house?” Roxanne spoke as she slowly to a step forward, suddenly a lot more confident. 

“A warning. You need to be careful. You must be careful.” Rose finally looked up at Roxanne, her cheeks were tear strained and her eyes were liked stainless purple glass. Roxanne’s eyes widened, though she wasn’t sure which part surprised her. 

“Careful? Careful of what?” Roxanne tried to reach out, only for Rose to jerk back, just barely moving away from Roxanne’s touch. “Just be careful mom.” And with that, Rose was gone. Roxanne looked around quickly, hoping that she just moved spots and wasnt gone completely.

No such luck.

Mom? She called her mom? Roxanne shook her head quickly. She didnt have a child, she never been pregnant. But.. there was no hesitation in her voice. Rose knew what she said and she knew it was right.

Roxanne sighed as she stepped into the shower, thankful that the water hide the droplets coming from her eyes. This just got a lot worse than she first thought.

~~~~~  
More Mom Lalonde and Dad Egbert!!! I'm sorry for the wait, I've had major writers block along with studying for finals but I finally got this chapter out!


	10. A/N IM SORRY!

I'm sorry!

This isn't a chapter and I'm so so so so sorry! I love this story and I love that so many people like this as well, even though it was a bit shocker. Well, I've been working on Chapter Nine, I just have had a major case of writers block and I have no idea what to write. I'm trying to just it out to you, it's just I don't want the story to seem force and when I make myself write while not having an idea, it doesn't seem as good as it could to me. Also, I know that I still have some characters that I haven't mentioned, I was actually wondering if any of you have an idea. For characters like Grandma English and Grandpa Harley, what do you think I should do? And do any of you think I should put in Poppop and Nanna? You can leave your ideas either in the comments or in my Tumblr inbox; http://pandakitten217.tumblr.com/


	11. Cake Making and Another Voice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo.... I'm sorry???
> 
> I know this is beyond late but I just didn't feel like writing! And I didn't want to make the story feel forced, which usually happens when I write and don't feel like it. I really hope this is okay for all of you.

The sun broke through the halfway parted clouds, shining down on the small bakery. James, smiling at nothing, unlocked the door and stepped in to get started for the day. Stepping into the back, James pulled off his hat and tied on his apron before getting out the ingredients for a cake. He thought it was be good to start with those for the day.

He mixed them and started putting the cake batter in a pan before putting it into the oven. Setting the timer, James went into the back, sitting down and ran his fingers through his neatly combed hair, letting the locks fall in different places for the moment.

He couldn’t get that woman out of his head. Miss Roxanna Lalonde. Her stunning pink eyes and golden hair. And she was incredibly smart, he saw all the books and notes in the living room during his visit, along with all the awards that were hanging on the all. 

But he couldn't shake the feeling that she was hiding something. It would make sense if she was. They just met, she had no reason to be up front and tell him everything. It was smart that she didn't. But he knew something wasn't right. The day before, everything seemed so familiar, spending time with her. 

Though he had noticed a few things weren't right. For one, he found himself circling April 13th on his calendar and putting a birthday cake on it. Birthday? Who’s birthday was it?

He could never remember.

James stood when he heard a bell ring, moving from the table to the oven. Grabbing his mitts, he opened the door and took out the pan, smiling at the perfectly formed cake. Setting the pan on the counter, James grabbed another bowl and started working on the icing, keeping his eyes on the shop windows, looking for the gorgeous scientist.

“Dad?”

James jumped, nearly dropping the bowl and quickly turned around, looking for the owner of the voice. He had been the only one there and the door never opened. Who said that?

“Dad!”

James’ eyes widened as he stumbled back, hands on the counter behind him as he held himself up, a young boy standing in front of him. With black messy hair and blue eyes behind a pair of glasses and buck teeth. There were tears behind his glasses as he threw himself at James. Confused, James held out his arms to catch the boy.

“Dad…” He mumbled into his chest, clinging to James tightly.

“I-I dont have a son..” James kept his voice light, scared if he said something wrong, the boy would start crying. The boy shook his head quickly, tightening his hold on him. “Dad, you have to be careful. Please be careful.” He finally looked up at James, chewing on his lip with his buck teeth.

“I..” James started but stopped himself. What could he say? “I will.” Relief flooded the boy’s eyes as he sighed and pulled away. “Thank you.” He gave a sad smile to him.

“Wait! Who are you?”

The boy flinched, lowering his head. “...John.” With that, John was gone.

“Goodness..” Once his vision calmed, James ran to the phone and pulled out a piece of paper. WIth shaking hands, he punched in the number. He waited through two rings before he heard a click. 

“Roxanna? I need your help.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's short!! I may have a better idea for the next chapter, so hopefully the next one would be better.


	12. The Pink Eyed Girl and Her Letter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Maybe, I just needed to finish the chapter before this before getting back into my feel. I love this one much more.

A white-haired woman was typing away at her computer, her purple eyes scanning the screen of text to catch any hint of errors. Currently, she should be asleep. The corner of her lip twitched upwards at the thought. If David could see her now, maybe the roles would be reversed and he would tell her she needed to sleep.

But she couldn’t. She didn’t want to see the girl again, that poor girl. Alone in a house. Rosaline shivered, her eyes falling shut. The dreams have actually scared her. For years she had been telling David that he shouldn’t fear dreams, they were nothing that could haunt him and yet here she was, scared to sleep like a young child scared of the dark.

Realizing she zoned out, Rosaline blinked and looked at the screen, her eyes widening she saw what she had been, typing.

Roxy.

Deleting the name, she saved the rest of the progress she had made before shutting the tab. A black chat room app was staring back at her. Oh…

Jadelyn…

She was quick to sign-in and messaged her friend.

\--tentacleTherapist [TT] began pestering gardenGnostic [GG]--  
GG: wait?  
GG: rosaline?  
GG: heheh wow! Its been a while  
TT: Indeed it has.  
TT: I’m… sorry. For that.  
TT: I truly have missed you.  
GG: its fine!  
GG: i know you and david are really busy  
GG: though i am excited for your new book  
GG: its been a lot easier to get now that i moved here  
TT: Really? You moved?  
GG: yep!  
TT: Wow, a lot has changed.  
TT: Where have you been living?  
GG: out on the coast  
GG: its easy to pretend im back home  
TT: Why did you leave?  
GG: well it was getting a bit harder to move around  
GG: got hurt a lot because of it  
GG: but its been nice here  
GG: made some new friends  
GG: well a friend  
TT: Who is it?  
GG: this guy named jake!  
GG: hes really cool  
GG: and he likes advantages  
GG: and he lived on an island too!  
GG: though he does seem kinda familiar  
TT: Oh?  
TT: How so?  
GG: well ive been having dreams  
GG: and i saw a kid that looked just like him!  
GG: same hair, same buck teeth, same dark skin, and eyes!  
GG: same everything!  
GG: weird right?  
TT: Weird..  
TT: Has he said anything about having dreams himself?  
GG: no  
GG: he hasnt  
GG: oh!  
GG: I gotta go!  
GG: bye rosaline!  
\--gardenGnostic [GG] ceased pestering tentacleTherapist [TT]--  
TT: Goodbye Jadelyn.  
\--tentacleTherapist [TT] ceased pestering gardenGnostic [GG]--

Rosaline sighed, shutting her laptop and moved away from the desk. She walked to her closet and opened it, changing out of her clothes and into black pants and a purple shirt. She laid down on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. 

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tick-

[in dream]

In a matter of seconds, Rosaline was asleep.

Same large house. Same wizards. Same cat. Same girl.

Tonight, she was at a desk, a closed laptop in front of her and a piece of paper. Quietly, Rosaline moved closer, watching her. The girl’s shoulders were shaking lightly. There was a hurtful pain in her chest as she watched.

“Hey mom. I know it’s been a while, but I really needed someone to talk to. I couldn’t talk to Dirk. I dont know, it just didnt feel right. Well, a lot has changed. Dirky and I meet new people. Janey and Jakey. Janey is super cute. I think you’d like her. And Dirk really likes Jake. Oh! I finished your first book. It was really good. I would like to know where you got the idea of bio-luminescent vampires but I like it either way. Well, I’ll talk to you later mom. Bye. Roxy.”

The girl- Roxy -picked up the paper and a box that was at her feet, opening the lid and placed the paper on top of many others. 

“You poor girl…” Rosaline whispered, staring at her. Standing away from the desk, Roxy turned and her pink eyes locking with the purple of Rosaline’s.

They stood like that for a bit before Roxy walked pass her as if she wasn’t there. She walked to the bedroom door, grabbing the neck of a nearly empty bottle of a clear liquid. “Shoot! I’m almost out..” She tilted it back against her lips, drinking the rest of it before setting it back down and kneels down, picking up a black cat and walked out.

Rosaline stared with wide eyes as the scene laid out in front of her, the pain in her chest grew more. Her mom? Something didnt seem… right…

[dream over]

Rosaline threw herself up, sitting upright in her bed, eyes wide and a cold sweat over her. Roxy… Suddenly, there’s tears in her eyes. Roxy... Pulling her knees to her chest, biting her lip, trying to stay quiet as the tears rolled down her cheeks. 

Roxy...


	13. Let Me Explain

Rosaline stayed in her house the next day. Even canceled the meetings she had that day. She couldn’t go. Not after that dream. Roxy… Everything about that dream was wrong. Why was the girl all alone. Why was there so many empty bottles laying around the house? Why would her mother leave her alone?

Why did she seem so familiar?

After finishing the call with her publisher, Rosaline walked around the house, trying to get her mind off of it. And failing greatly at that. Bio-luminescent vampires. That’s what Roxy said in the dream. Rosaline was once going to publish a book about that. But she never did. She was never even finished the first edit!

And as far as she knew, no one else had either. So who was Roxy’s mother? The woman that wrote a book on bio-luminescent vampires. 

After a bit, she returned to her bed, still haven’t changed out of her night clothes and set on the edge. Now she saw why David was so scared of his dreams. About the boy living in an abandoned apartment. What did David say his name was? Dirk? 

Roxy said something about a boy name Dirk.

“Good Heavens.” She mumbled, laying back on her bed. She was thinking too much into this. Way too much into this. But how could she not? She was a writer, that was her job. But right now, she needed something else besides her active mind. Right now, she needed her best friend.

Rolling over, she grabbed her phone, praying to something that David picked up.

One, two, three, rings passed before there was a click. Rosaline sighed in relief. “David, I-.”

“Who’s this?”

Rosaline froze. That was not David’s voice. 

“I was still sleeping… Oh, it’s already eleven, must’ve stayed out too late.”

“Who are you.” Rosaline demanded, tightening her grip on her phone. She knew she didnt call the wrong number, she hit David’s contact number. So who was this on the phone with her.

“Name’s Derrick, darling. And who might you be?”

Before Rosaline could answer, her mind still racing, she was cut off but another voice came from the other side of the call. A very familiar voice.

“Derrick? What are you- is that my phone?”

“Sorry Dave, it was ringing to much and I was trying to sleep.” There was a chuckle at the end of that. Dave? No one called David, Dave. No one.

“Trying to sleep? It’s a hour until noon. And you’re doing it again Derrick. Now, who were you talking to- Rosaline?”

David’s voice was louder now, like he took the phone from the other one. “Sh!t, Rosaline, I’m sorry. I was in the shower.”

That seemed to snap Rosaline out of her daze, clearing her throat. “No, it’s already David, I know you were on vacation.” But I didn’t know you were with someone else… Rosaline couldn’t lie and say that wasn’t weird to her.

“Rosa, before you start freaking on, let me explain. It’s not what you think. I’m just saying with a friend. I met him down here the first night here and he’s… don’t call me crazy, but he’s Dirk. He’s older, and different but he’s still Dirk.” He was silent for a moment before continuing. “I know how it sounds Rosa, but you gonna believe me. He has dreams like us, only they’re about me.”

“That could very much be because you’re famous, David.” She didn’t mean to snap. But it came out either way. How could David think that this was save!? This man could be dangerous and David was staying with him! “They’re just dreams.” Her voice was just above a whisper, almost like she was trying to convince herself alone with David.

“I know it’s hard to understand but please, you have to trust me.”

“I do trust you. Just not him.” With that, Rosaline hanged up. She couldn’t trust this man that had made his way into her best friend’s head. “They’re just dreams. Just dreams.” She whispered, tossing her phone on the other side of her bed before curling up on her side. 

[in Texas]

David, wearing only a pair of sweatpants and a towel hanging over his shoulder, stared down at his phone. “I knew she’d freak.” He sighed, holding his head in his hand. “Sh!t..”

“You’re gonna have to go back.” He turned his head to look at Derrick who was standing in the kitchen, facing him. “You know I do. I got to finish my movie and check on Rosaline. I can’t stay Derrick.” They were both quiet for a while, both of them knew it was better to stay quiet instead of saying something. 

“What about the dreams?” David didn’t realize he had started talking about a minute or so. “Have they stopped?” His hadn’t.

Derrick moved from his spot in the kitchen to sit next to him. “No. They haven’t. I still see him.”

David gave a weak smile. That was probably why Derrick called him Dave while talking to Rosaline. “So have I.” With that, he stood and walked over to his bag of clothes, which he brought over from his hotel, and opened it. He pulled out a white shirt and a pair of red skinny jeans before brushing out his hair. 

“Where are you going?”

Grabbing his shoes, David set down and turned to him, smiling. “Where are we going? Out. Since I have to go back to Hollywood soon, we need to go out a bit. As brothers.” There was a sad look in his eyes that Derrick knew he hated.

“Alright. Let me go get dress.”


	14. Familiar New Roommate

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really don't like this chapter... and I don't even think sorry works anymore for how long I've made you all wait.

((taking place during chapter four))

A tanned skinned girl stepped off of the boat and looked around. From the looks of it, there wasn’t a lot of people but it was definitely more than she used to. Growing up on an island with just vague memories of her grandpa and a dog didn’t give her a lot of social experience. She sighed to herself before lifting her head higher and smiled. I can do this!! She thought before picking up her bag and started walking.

The girl, Jadelyn Harley, walked around with her green eyes wide behind her glasses, looking at everything. It was soon different seeing it in person and not on the screen of her computer. Jadelyn looked down at the piece of paper in her hand with an address on it. This was the address of her new roommate’s apartment. 

Before moving off of her island, Jadelyn had spent so long thing of this and what would happen if she did. She would be able to see her friends in person, or at least one. She didn’t blame the other two, they were really busy being famous and all. But she was so far away from home… Shaking her head, Jadelyn took a deep breath. It was just another adventure.

Coming up to the apartment, Jadelyn found herself tightening her hold on the bag. She didn’t know a lot about this person beside his name, age, and that he was in a similar situation. He lifted on an island like she had. Remembering that gave Jadelyn a bit of relief. Standing as tall with a large bag on her bag and another in one hand, Jadelyn lifted her hand and knocked firmly on the door.

Moments later, the door opened. Standing inside was a man, mid-twenties, similar tan skin as her and dark emerald green eyes behind a pair of rectangular glasses. And a wide, buck tooth smile.

Jadelyn was hit with a strong feeling of familiarity, The kind you feel when you see an old relative after a long time. She was knocked out of her strange thoughts when the other started talking.

“Hi! You’re Jadelyn Harley?” He smiled and took a step back and opened the door wider, making room for her to walk in. Smiling, Jadelyn walked in, glancing around quickly before turning to him, setting her bags down and held out her hand. “Jake English.” She stated.

Jake took her hand and shook it, smiling. With all of her worrying, everything just seemed settled and better. 

Jadelyn followed Jake to one of the bedrooms, a plain one. He said it was so Jadelyn could decorate it as she wanted. He stayed there for a bit longer before leaving her to it. She went through her bags before pulling out a photo and set it on the bedside table. Jadelyn stopped and looked at it. The picture was of her as a young child, a big white dog, and an old man who was her grandpa. Who looked a lot like Jake. “Huh..” She stared at it a bit longer before laying down on the bed.

Jake left his new flatmate’s room and went to his, his normal smile was gone for the moment. In his room, the man sat in the chair to his desk, reached into his shirt and pulled out an old gold chain with a locket. He clicked it open and looked at the picture of the smiling face of an old woman as tears flooded his eyes. “You… wouldn’t want me crying over you after all this time… but she looked just like you.”

He sighed and rubbed the fallen tears before laying down and held the locket in his hand, slowly falling asleep.


	15. Truths and Plans

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't even think sorry can work anymore. Here is more Mom and Dad, with a hint of Bro at the end. With any luck, I'll be able to get the next chapter out before I go through anything writing slump.

(Roxanna’s POV of Chapter Nine)

 

After the run in with Rose, Roxanna had thrown herself into her research even more. She still talked to James though, she liked being with him but she didn’t say anything about Rose or her research to him. No, she couldn’t. She didn’t want to scare him away. She still did most of her work at home, though she did leave to grab coffee in the mornings and stopped by the bakery to say hi.

They spoke for a while but she left not too long afterward, having to get back to her research and James had customers to take care of. On her way home, Roxanna starting thinking more of what could happen if she told him. Her main thought was that he would be scared off and stop spending time with her. But she was a scientist, she had to think of other possibilities, there was almost another ending that could play out.

And that’s what she did when she got home. Pulling out a new notebook, Roxanna listed every possibility, putting much thought into it and refused to let herself think only one what she was scared of.

Tapping her pen against the paper, Roxanna clicked the top one, two, three times before setting it down and laid back, sighing. Eyes shut, she reached over and grabbed a bottle, bringing it her lips and drown down a big drink.

Why was everything so complicated? Why didn’t anything make sense? She was a scientist, this shouldn’t be happening. Why-?

She snapped up, eyes wide and her hand gripping the bottle, staring down at it. She wanted another drink, but something felt wrong about it. Something was off, something was wrong, something-.

A crash pulled her out of her thoughts.

Snapping her head down, Roxanna stared at the broken wine bottle as the red liquid poured out and soaked into the carpet. She needed to clean it up. Slowly, she pulled herself up, her body shaking as she started walking to the kitchen to get a towel but stopped when her phone started ringing.

Changing her path, Roxanna grabbed her phone and sucked in a sharp breath she heard James’ voice, sliding down to the floor. Chewing on her lip as she listened, she nodded as if he could see her. “...Come over.” She whispered. They needed to talk.

Roxanna was still on the floor when there was a knock on the door. She was curled up, her body still shaking but she refused to cry, refused to let herself slip any further. But she had to get up for the door. She had too.

“Roxanna?”

Looking up, her pink eyes caught James’ blue eyes. Quickly, she pulled herself up and tried to clean herself up while taking his hand and pulled him away from the living room, not wanting him to see the wine.

Outside would be the best for her but from how James looked, they needed to stay inside. So, she let him to her study, letting him sit down before sitting down next to him. “What happened?” Roxanna started. If she didn’t, he would ask about her.

“I… I saw a boy, a kid, in my shop. No one was in there but me. He just appeared and then left.”

She stared at him, not realizing her hands had balled into fists. “Did he say anything? His name?” James was quiet for a moment. “You don’t think I’m crazy?”

If you were, then I am too. She thought before shaking her head. She needed to know what happened if it was anything like Rose. “He said his name was John and that I needed to be careful. And...” John… John John John Jo-

“And he called me dad.” James lowered his head and held his head in his hands. "I don't know what's going on. Lately, everything's been feeling off, like I'm forgetting something- someone, very important. Maybe I am crazy."

"You're not." It had to come out, she had to tell him the truth about what was going on with her, maybe they weren't crazy and maybe something else is going on.

"I've been seeing a girl, her name is Rose, she called me mom the last time I saw her, which was the day you came over to check on me. She told me the same thing, to be careful."

James stared at her. "Did she have anything to do with the wine in the living room?" Roxanna flushed in embarrassment, shaking her head. "No. I-"

Their attention was cut off by the phone going off again. Neither one of them made a move to answer it right away, both staring at the phone until shakily, the Lalonde picked up the phone. Holding it between herself and James as she put it on speaker. "Hello?"

"'Ey, Lalonde." A male voice drawls out. Roxanna made a face in confusion but clearly knew who the voice belonged too but couldn't get a word in as the voice started talking again. "I need your help."

Sighing, she glanced over at James before closing her eyes again. "I'll be down in a few days." Was all she said before hanging up. She fell against James, eyes shut as she was tired and just emotionally drained. Wrapping his arm around her, James curled his fingers through her hair. "Who was that?" She didn't say anything for a moment before looking up at him. "A friend, from a long time ago. Down in Texas."

The two sat there, soaking up the comfort from each other and soon the silence became comfortable and natural.

"James?" It was soft, tiredness in her voice.

"Hmm?"

"Could you come with me?" It was an innocence question, one that Roxanna didn't think he would agree too. She just really didn't want to be alone, something that James could understand and relate too.

"If you want me too." If she was to really ask, he would close up the bakery for a few days and leave with her.

"I do."

"Then, of course."

Some time later, they moved from the study to her room, both curled up in each other's arms. There was a stronger feeling than just the comfort but neither one of them wanted to say anything that could ruin the moment. Both of them were silent, just resting there and it wasn't long until their breathing evened out and blended together, their eyes falling shut to sleep.


	16. A Carnival and The Hospital

“Where are are we going, David?”

The two blondes were in Derrick’s truck, David in the driver’s seat despite Derrick’s previous arguing. They both noticed how they were starting to act around each other but neither one of them mentioned it. If they talked about it, they’d end up talking about how David would be leaving soon. Derrick knew he had to leave, but god he didn’t want him too. For the first time since he started seeing the visions, he’s finally starting to feel normal and not like something was missing. 

“I told you it’s a surprise, Derrick.” 

There was a smile on David’s face. Well, at least he was comfortable hanging out with him in his final days in Texas. Even though he didn’t hide it very well, David wouldn’t allow himself to think about staying any longer. If it wasn’t for his movie, it was for Derrick. Their dreams haven’t stopped since they meet but still didn’t understand it so maybe it just needed more time. Whatever it was.

That was something they talked about a lot. Their dreams. David’s dreams continued to switch, sometimes Dirk would look at him and talk to him and act as if David was really there. Bro was still just watched Dave, just watching over him, watching as he grew up and went from the smiling kid to the closed off, jumpy teen. They both had heard of other kids from this, Dirk talked a lot about a boy named Jake and Dave talked about a girl, Rose. This information put each other at great unease when they were told about it, Derrick more than David, as he quickly changed the topic and didn’t answer any questions about that was going on.

“I told you I don’t like surprises, David.”

“You’ll like this one.”

And that was the end of the conversation.

Derrick sighed and turned his head, looking out the window as they drove. Soon enough, he rested his head on the glass and shut his eyes.

 

“Why don’t you try talking to him?”

Bro’s eyes reopened and he was back in his apartment, standing in the hall next to Dave’s room. The light was on, the first was open, and there were voices coming from inside. Shifting closer to the door and listened through the crack, he completely froze when a male voice responded to the first, female voice.

“You know I can’t do that Rose. He’s not around most of the time anyway.”

“But he’s home enough. I’m sure he would listen if you just try talking to him.”

“I can’t!”

The voices fell silent after that. Derrick’s heart was beating so fast, it seemed to want to leap out of his chest and it nearly made him fall forward. Thankfully, he caught himself and was able to look through the crack, looking into the bedroom.

It looked just liked it had the last time he was in that room, wires everywhere, and a messy bed. There was a boy at the desk, the computer screen showing a video call, a girl on the other side.

“Dave-.”

“Shit I’m sorry Rose. But I can’t. You know how he is.”

The girl, Rose, nodded her head and moved her elbows to rest on her desk, her chin in her hands. “I know how he is and I know how you are. If you don’t tell him anything, it’s not gonna be long until you start trying to hide things from up. You have to talk to him before this gets too bad.”

She glanced up, just barely missing Dave and looked over his shoulder, right at Bro. Her expression stayed the same but she nodded to him before looking back at Dave. “I think he would understand.”

“What do you want me to tell him? That’s I’m crazy? That I want to-.”

“Dave.” There was a tone in her voice, something that Bro couldn’t put his finger on but something he knew, something that reminded him of someone.

“You’re not crazy. You just need to let your brother back into your life and let him help you.”

 

“Derrick? Derrick, wake up. We’re here.” There was a light shaking and Derrick opened his eyes, looking over at who was shaking him. “David?” He set up and pushed up his shades, rubbing his eyes and looked around. “Where are we?” David reached over and unlocked the doors, opening the driver’s door. “Come and I’ll show you.”

They got out and walked a bit when a bunch of booths and rides came into view. A carnival. Derrick laughed and shook his head at David, smiling softly as they walked around. This was the distraction he needed from that dream and what was going on.

They wandered around the carnival for a while before Bro left to go get something to drink. David waited by the benches when he saw a flash of blonde hair and pointy shades. “Derrick-!” He started to call but stopped when he noticed something was off. He was too short to be Derrick. Without thinking, David got up and started walking after him. It wasn’t Derrick, who was it? Who-?

“Dirk?”

The figure stopped and glanced over his shoulder, David just caught a slight sight of the bright orange eyes. The eyes that were more orange than golden like Derrick’s. It was Dirk. David started picking up his pace hurrying after the figure, in that moment nothing else matters. 

“Dirk!”

Derrick away with a cup when he saw David running. Quickly, he ran after him, hearing what he was saying but didn’t see anything. 

Faster. Faster. Just a little more and he could be there with Dirk. What was Dirk going there? What was-.

Everything was a bright light, his head and back hurt and he couldn’t feel his legs. 

“-Vid! David!” 

Who was that? Who was talking? David? David was… He tried to turn his head but everything hurt too much, he couldn’t move. His throat was hurting, why was his throat hurting. “It’s okay David, it’s okay, focus on me. Breathe for me, breathe. David!” Everything went white.

 

Everything happened too fast. One second he was running after David and the next he was watching David’s body get slammed with a car, flying through the air and dropped on the road. A second later, he was doing the same thing, dropping down on the ground next to David, pain flaring in his knees and shooting up through his legs but he paid no mind to it. David’s eyes were half open, the crimson red out to the world as his shades laid on the ground, broke a few feet away from them. 

Derrick fished out his phone dialing an ambulance while holding David to his chest. In the far, far back in his mind, the feeling felt slightly familiar, remembering a memory of a time that never happened, holding a pale baby with almost white hair and scarlet eyes to his chest. But he couldn’t think of that, not now as he trying to get out real words instead of mumbling nonsense through the tears streaming from his eyes that he made no move to try and rub them away. He wasn’t going to let go of David and he needed to get an ambulance here now. 

The ride to the hospital was the horrible, watching David be hooked up to a machine and having someone try to talk to him. Derrick couldn’t look at him like this, he couldn’t see his brother like this. All he could do was stare down at the broken shades in his hands.

Finally, they got to the hospital, Derrick filled out the papers and sat in the waiting room until he was able to go back to see him, which was a couple of hours later. David was still unconscious. 

Derrick stood at his bedside for a moment before kissing his forehead. “I’ll be right back David.” He whispered and stepped outside, grabbing his phone, dialing an old number. It rang a few times before she answered.

"'Ey, Lalonde… I need your help." Once given her answer, Derrick slid down to the floor, trying to keep himself together. 

He looked up at a low rumble and stood, walking a bit down the hall closer to the window. The sky looked a bit darker, he couldn’t tell if it was because of the glass or if it was getting close to raining. A figure walked past him to the window, looking outside. 

“Dave.”

The figure didn’t turn to him but there was a clear tension in his back and shoulders. After a moment, he looked over his shoulder and turned to face Derrick though he was most likely looking past him, back at the room David was in. “Bro… he’s hurt?” Derrick nodded, trying to figure out why he was so calm. 

“I’m sorry for not talking to you.”

“I’m sorry for not being there.”

They finally looked at each other for a moment. Dave sighed and lowered his head. “You need to be careful Bro. Really careful.” Derrick opened his mouth but a bright flash of lightning came and once it cleared, Dave was gone just as a loud clap of thunder rolled over and a scream rang out. Turning on his heels, Derrick ran back to David’s room, dropping onto the bed, holding David in his arms as the other cried. “Shhh, it’s okay David, it’s okay.” He looked up at the door, still holding his brother. “No one’s gonna hurt cha. No one.”


	17. Losing it

Getting everything straightened out was a lot easier than Roxanne and James that first thought. Even though Roxanne had to go in to speak to her colleagues about her sudden vacation to Taxes, no one questioned her. Even if none of them thought too highly of her, they couldn’t deny that she was smart and more often than not, knew just want she was doing.

While Roxanna was out speaking with them, James closed up the bakery for a few days and packed a few clothes before returning to the house. She had asked him if he would stay with her until they left. Things were just a bit awkward at first. James hadn’t been staying with anyone since he moved out on his own and Roxanne wasn’t used to having anyone around at all. But it didn’t take long until they started laughing and talking, comfortable with each other again.

“So, who was the gentleman that called?” James had asked over dinner. He had tried to insist on cooking for her but she talked him out of it and allowed her to cook for them. The question had surprised Roxanne but didn’t seem troubled about answering the question. 

“He’s a friend I met in high school. We were both- ah. We haven’t been keeping in touch as much as we said we would, but we still talk and stuff.”

James nodded, looking down at his plate for a moment. “Just friends?”

Roxanna smiled and hummed. “Just friends.”

 

Once it was time for them to leave, James drove to the airport and they boarded the plane. It was a good flight. Roxanna told him a bit more about her history with Derrick and how high school was for them. As she thought back to it, she just realized how much they had never really fit in with other people. They have always been the outcasts. 

Texas was just as Roxanna remembered it. Hot, sunny, and not her place. It’s been awhile since she been there but she still knew she wasn’t a warm weather girl. Part of the reason why she moved out to New York. 

“Derrick?” Roxanna stood outside of the airport with James, their bags in their hands. She figured that Derrick would want to be with was with whoever has been holding his attention but she didn’t want to just walk to his apartment if he still lived in the same place.

“‘Ey Lalonde.” She narrowed her eyes in concern. He didn’t sound good. He really didn’t sound good. “I’m at home. Just head on up.”

“Alright… I’ll be there soon.” Hanging up, she smiled at James and tilted her head to the side. “We can just head to his apartment.” Nodding, he fell into step with her, walking away from the airport. 

 

It wasn’t much of a walk but Roxanna was hotter. Pulling her hair back and slid a pair of sunglasses on. “Not one for the heat?” James laughed softly, smiling at her. “Nope. I’m not. Too hot and not enough clouds.” Roxanna mumbled, trying to hide her own smile. 

Once in the apartment, they opted for the elevator, Roxanna pressing the top floor button.

 

“Derrick?” It was a bit worrying when Roxanna found the front door was unlocked. Maybe he just did that for her. “Back here!” A voice called from the back of the apartment followed by soft steps. The figure came into view, and James bit back a reaction. He wasn’t sure what he thought this friend of Roxanna’s to be but he wasn’t sure this was it.

Bags under his eyes and looking completely exhausted, eyes a little bloodshot. 

“Oh goodness.” Setting her bags down, Roxanna walked to him, grabbing his wrist and set him on the still pulled back futon, a look of irradiation on her face before looking back at him. “James, I need to talk to him for a moment.”

Nodding, James took the bags and walked down the hall. He looked around, not wanting to go into a room he wasn't supposed too. As he stood around, he could still hear the voices from the living room.

They haven’t moved after James had left, Roxanna stood in front of him, holding her head in her hand. Derrick’s head was bowed, staring down at the floor. “I thought you said you would take care of yourself.” 

“Roxanna, I have. It’s just-”

“No, you haven’t!” 

“He’s-”

“Who is ‘he’?”

“My brother!”

Roxanna stopped, her eyes widened just a bit. “Brother? Derrick, you don’t have a brother.” What really had happened to her friend?   
“I do. Another time ago. He’s name was Dave, he was my little brother. I found him here, David Strider, the director.”

“Derrick…” She sighed, sitting down next to him. For a moment, all she could think about was Rose. But that couldn’t be the same. It couldn’t be. “It’s not possible.”

He snapped up, narrowing his eyes at him. It took her a second but the longer Roxanna looked at him, she could start to see his eyes through his shades. It’s been a long time since she actually saw them. “It is. I met him, he knows me as his brother too, he stayed here for a few days.”

“Then where is he?”

Without a thought, Derrick fell against her, resting his head on her shoulder. “He’s in the hospital. He got hit by a car. Roxanna, I’m losing it, really I am. He’s there, he’s my brother but I still saw Dave that day. David was running because he thought he saw Dirk. We’re losing it.”

Tilting her head to rest against his, Roxanna sighed. She wanted to tell him what was going on, that she and James have also been seeing people but that wasn’t something to saw in this situation. She needed to be there to help Derrick, not make him think this is any more real than he already thought. “Derrick-”

“Come with me to see him tomorrow. He’ll tell you.” 

Closing her eyes, those deep purple eyes stared back at her, knitting in worry as Rose begged her to be careful. She couldn’t go with Derrick to see this man. She couldn’t. But he couldn’t go alone… “Alright. I’ll go.”


	18. Hospital Visitors

After their fight, Roxanna walked away from the living room and down the hall to the bedroom. There was two bedrooms in the apartment, one that she had used when she stayed there and another that had never been used. Derrick always slept out on the futon in the living room. She never asked why.

Finding James in the same room she used, Roxanna smiled before shutting the door and walked to the bed. Dropping the bag, she laid down and sighed. Smiling, James sat next to her. “How is he?”

“I don’t know… he claims this guy is his brother when he doesn’t have a brother. He said this guy had been staying with him and also believed to his brother as well. I’m worried about him.” Roxanna pulled the pillow in her arms and rested her chin on it. “It was like they had the same thing we have do, with Roxy and John…” 

Could it be possible that they really did? But if it was, did that make what Derrick had said true? Were they really brothers? Maybe she should go with him to see this guy. 

“Who does his think is his brother?”

“David Strider, the director. Do you think it’s true? That what he says was true?” She looked up at him, her eyes looking at his. She really liked his eyes, the blue that was sharp and filled with emotion. He was so much different than Derrick was, James showed his emotions and whatever he was feeling, unlike Derrick who was always trying to ignore what he was feeling.

Expect for right now.

Derrick was losing himself in what he thought was reality and it was scary to Roxanna. She had never seen her friend like this, so open and vulnerable. “I have to go with him tomorrow. To see whoever this ‘brother’ of his is.” Maybe she could get some answers, figure out what was going on. And maybe, she could find out what was going on with her and James.

The rest of the day was spent with her telling James about her time in Texas, how she met Derrick during school and how she stayed with him for a bit of time after high school. She didn’t tell him everything about her friend, knowing that most things were too personal to Derrick and he didn’t know James like she did. 

As the day started to end, they had left the room when Derrick called for dinner. When they came out, both were surprised by the change he had made. He still looked tired to no end but he had cleaned up and dinner was sitting on the coffee table. It seemed one thing hasn’t changed.

“So, James.” Derrick spoke after they had started eating. “You’ve been taking care of Roxanna out in New York, right?” There were a bit of teasing in his voice but more of protective.

Turning red, James looked over at Roxanna then back at Derrick. “I’m sorry but I don’t think you understand-.”

“We’re not together, De.” 

Roxanna didn’t look up as she continued to eat. She knew Derrick was looking at her but she also knew the look he was giving her and she didn’t want to deal with that at that right then and there. Knowing her friend, he would likely bring it up later.

Dinner continued like that, Roxanna took care of the dishes while James retired to the room. “Rox.” Stopping her movements, she stared down at the water. “Yeah?” 

“You’ve been on my back about taking care of myself but I know you. I know you haven’t been doing too good either. What’s going on with you?”

Roxanna’s hands curled into tight fists, forcing her body to keep from shaking. She knew that she would have to tell Derrick sooner or later but she really didn’t want to. Because if she did, she’d have to tell her everything. The drinking, James… Rose. She didn’t want to face it, not here, not now. “Derrick-.”

“Don’t lie to me.”

He was by her side now but she still wouldn’t look up at him. She couldn’t. “Roxanna. Please.” Placing one hand on her shoulder seemed to break her completely. Her head fell forward and her eyes squeezed shut tightly, trying to keep the forming tears from spilling over. 

Sighing, Derrick wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to his chest. He was taller to her now… he hadn’t noticed. “Rox.”

“I-I’ve seen it.” Her voice came out as a whisper, soft but weak. She was never weak. Maybe he had been rubbing off on her. “All of it. All the same.”

“Seen what?”

“Her! Rose. She-.” Roxanna continued to talk but Derrick couldn’t hear her. Rose? That name. Where had he heard that name before? Her thought back to the dream her had in the truck when David had taken him to the carnival. The dream with Dave talking to that girl. He called her Rose.

“-My daughter. Told me to be careful.”

“Roxanna. I think…”

She trailed off, looked up at him. Her pink eyes were shining with the unshed tears. “What?” Her voice weaved but he pretended not to hear it and instead gave her a soft smile. 

“I think those kids back in high school were right to call us crazy. I’m in that same boat as you are, Rox. Seeing someone, knowing them, and feeling as though you’re forgetting someone. Been having dreams of this kid, Dave. He was my brother. And when I met David, I-..” He bit his lip, trailing off as he thought of words. “He made those thoughts, that voice, go quiet. It was like I wasn’t missing anyone anymore because he was right there at my side.”

Roxanna understood. She did. Only, she hasn’t found her Rose. She was still at the far end of everything, sinking and drowning in the deep end of her thoughts. “I’ll go with you. Tomorrow, I’ll go with you.” 

Smiling, Derrick nodded. “Alright. But enough thinking of that now. You need sleep.”

Nodding, Roxanna hugged him tightly before pulling away and left the kitchen. “Night, De.” She smiled at him and continued down the hall to the bedroom. James was laying on the bed, the lamp on as he read one of his books he brought. Without a thought, she crawled into the bed next to him, curling between his side and the wall that the bed was pressed against. He didn’t say anything, just switched hands he was holding the book was in and wrapped his now free arm around her. In a matter of seconds, everything had caught up to Roxanna and she was asleep.

Waking to the light shining through the window and not a dream as something Roxanna had almost forgotten. Sighing, she pushed herself up and stretched her arms above her head before looking down beside her. James was on his side, one arm underneath the pillow and his eyes shut. He looked peaceful like this. Leaning over, Roxanna brushed his hair out of his face before sliding off the bed.

Grabbing her bag, she left the room and walked to the bathroom. Washing up and changing, Roxanna came back to the bedroom, setting her bag down and left against to go to the living.

Derrick was already awake.

The futon was made back into a couch and he was sitting up. Something was in his hand. Sitting down next to him, she spotted a pair of aviator shades in his hands. Must’ve been Dave’s. Placing her hand on his arm, she smiled at him. “Don’t worry about him, so much. He’ll be okay.” Derrick looked up at her and tried to smile but it clearly forced. 

Not long later, James woke up and they ate breakfast and afterward, they left the apartment to head to the hospital. No one said anything.

There were news vans and reporters outside and Derrick scolded at the sight of them. “They’ve been trying to see David since it happened. Since I was the one that called an ambulance and brought him in, they had him checked in under my name. None of them had been let in.”

Parking the truck, they filled out and walked in. Derrick ignored the people that came to him, trying to find out what was going on. Roxanna and James did their best and walked inside with him. The lady at the front desk smiled softly at him and nodded, letting them walk back to the elevators.

Getting up to the floor, Roxanna looked back at James, chewing on the inside of her lip. She could feel the tension in the air. James was feeling out of place and Derrick was struggling to contain himself. 

Stopping in front of one of the doors, reached over and grabbed James’ hand before speaking up to Derrick. “He’s okay, Derrick.”

He glanced back at her before giving her the hint of a smile before pushing the door opened and walked in. She looked over and James and smiled, walking in with him. Derrick was already at the side of the bed. The male laying in the bed was asleep. He had a couple cuts and healing bruises but he didn’t seem too bad. Derrick sat down on the chair that was there and took one of his hands, squeezing it lightly.

“Derrick,” James spoke first. “What happened to him?”

“He was hit by a car. He didn’t see it. Running after-... he thought he saw someone he knew and he wasn’t looking.”

Roxanna squeezed James’ hand before walking to Derrick and stopped at his side, resting her hand on his shoulder. “He saw one too?” Behind her, James’ eyes widened before narrowing in worry. If he understood her than Derrick saw someone just like they did.

Derrick looked at her, back at James then down at David. “Yeah. He saw a boy named Dirk. Looked just like me, same shades, same eyes. The kid even called David ‘bro’ like Davey called me. He really is my brother.”

“Hell yeah I am…” They all looked up to the bed, seeing a pair of dull ruby eyes. Derrick jumped from his chair, leaning over the bed a bit more. “David.”

A hoarse chuckle left him as he smiled at Derrick. “I’m alright. Just hard to sleep with so much talking.” He said before turning his head to look at Roxanna. “You look like Rosa.”

Roxanna gave a tensed smile. “My name is Roxanna. A friend of Derrick. And this is James.” David looked at her and James before smiled at them and nodded. “Nice to meet both of you.” He squeezed Derrick’s head before looking up at him. “Could we-.”

“Yeah.” He nodded before David was even done talking, looking over at the other two. “Could we had a second?” 

Nodding quickly, Roxanna grabbed James’ hand and walked back outside with him.

They stood outside for a moment, looking at the door. “I've never seen him so happy before.” It was a little scary, seeing Derrick so relaxed and so happy. “It’s clear they care about each other. Do you think it’s possible that they really are brothers? That they are really the one that the other knew?” She sighed, resting her head against his shoulder. “I don’t know but at the moment, I can’t really care. They may each other happy.”

The sound of footsteps cut them out of their conversation, turning their heads to look down the hall. Another blonde woman came rushing down the hall, nearly running. She stopped a few feet away from them, breathing heavily. “Where is he! David Strider, where is he?” 

Roxanna’s eyes widened at the woman, her breathing getting caught in her throat. “He-.” The door opened before she could say anything and Derrick walked out, looking at the stranger. “So you’re the Rosaline.” He knew her? 

A dark look came to her eyes at the sight of him. “You. What did you do to him.” 

Derrick’s eyes mirrored the hatred. “I did nothing to him. He got hit by a car, trying to catch Dirk.”

“Dirk isn’t real! He’s just a dream, nothing more.”

“Then tell me about the boy I’ve seen, Dave. Or these two who always have dreams and hallucinations as we have.”

The woman- Rosaline -clearly wanted to say something but couldn’t seem to get the words out. Finally, she looked back at Roxanna and James, freezing for a moment. It was like this was the first time she was looking at him. But her anger was still there. “What?”

That was when Roxanna realize she was staring at her. 

“You… look like Rose.”


	19. Just a Dream

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy 4/13!!!

<Hollywood>

 

Rosaline hadn’t been back to her office in a couple of days but she wouldn’t allow herself to slack off. Like she told David back before he left for Texas, she had a deadline too. And she was going to finish her book on time. She had too.

Writing had never come so hard to her than it had in those days. She couldn’t think of anything to do, all she wanted to do was sleep. Sleep and maybe see that girl with the pink eyes again. Whenever she did sleep now, she didn’t see her anymore. No more dreams of the house filled with liquor bottles, that black cat or the girl. Every time she shut her eyes, Roxy wasn’t there with a new letter or talking with friends on her computer. There was no sign of Roxy. Like she was just gone.

Her Roxy. Gone.

That was why Rosaline tried to sleep as much as she could. She knew she had to finish her book, that she couldn’t allow herself to slack, she had a deadline but she couldn’t bring herself to care. The only thing that matter was finding Roxy.

It had almost become her obsession. 

And if would have if she went any longer before another dream came. Or… something. She wasn’t quite sure it was what would be called a dream.

She was sitting on her bed, staring at her laptop that she should have been working on. She had been sitting there for too long, she wasn’t quite sure how long. But it was longer than she should have.

Just when she had tried to start moving, everything blurred and her head soon hit the pillow.   
  


<dream>

_ “Mom?” _

_ Reopening her eyes, Rosaline looked around and found herself back in that house. Everything was the same but something was off. Looking around, her eyes landed on the girl. Roxy. Only, that was what was different. Roxy wasn’t on her computer or at her desk or with a bottle. No, this time she was looking right at Rosaline.  _

_ “Mom?” She repeated though it was still filled with worry and almost fear. It didn’t sit right with Rosaline but she couldn’t move. She couldn’t go to Roxy like she wanted. When did she start wanting to be near her? It was just a dream. _

_ But… she looked so sad here all alone. _

_ Wait. Was Roxy always talking to her? _

_ Opening her mouth, Rosaline found herself speechless. What was going on? Roxy started to tremble, her hands balling into fists at her sides. She was clearly trying to hold herself back from doing something.  _

_ “No. Of course, you’re not her. You’re not-... she’s not here.” By that time, there were tears in Roxy’s eyes. That hit something and finally, Rosaline was able to take a step forward. _

_ “I’m not your mom, Roxy. But I am here.” She didn’t know what she was doing, why she was talking to her dream but there was something about seeing those tears in Roxy’s eyes that she couldn’t just let happen. As she walked closer to Roxy, the girl took a couple of steps back, almost as if she was scared of Rosaline. _

_ “Roxy, please.” Every time Roxy stepped away, Rosaline could feel a stab in her chest. Finally, she got close enough to take her hands and pull her into her arms, hugging her. Roxy struggled just a bit before collapsing against her, clinging tightly to Rosaline. _

_ After a moment where the only sound was Roxy’s soft sobs, her voice finally broke through. Voice hoarse and weak from all the crying, Rosaline could still make out the words.  _

_ “You are her… it is you.” _

_ Not having words for a reply, Rosaline just tightened her arms around Roxy and held her close. While she held Roxy to her chest, Rosaline lifted her head to look around the room. The living room, a space that Rosaline hadn’t spent much time in. Every time she had been there, she always went straight to try and fight Roxy.  _

_ Sitting on the table, there was a photo. It was clearly old; seeming really fragile and the corners started to tear. The picture was taken of a person; it was of a visible, a blonde woman. She was carrying a box, a smile on her face but still a look of fear. Narrowing her eyes, Rosaline shifted closer to it, still not letting go of Roxy. As she got closer, the woman’s eye color come clear. Purple. _

_ Had it been any other time, Rosaline would have written it off as a coincidence but now, she had a girl in her arms, clinging to her for dear life, calling her mom. _

_ Frozen in fear, Rosaline almost didn’t hear the voice calling to her.  _

_ Mom… mom… mo-  _ Rosaline!

<dream over>

 

“Miss Rosaline!”

Bolting up from the bed, Rosaline’s eyes snapped open. She looked around the room for Roxy but saw only her editor standing beside her bed. Rosaline remembered that she had given a spare key to her in the case of an emergency.

“I apologize Miss Rosaline but something happened…”

Shaking her head quickly, Rosaline set up. “No no, it’s fine. What is it?”

The woman was quiet for a moment before sighing. “David Strider is in the hospital.”

Rosaline sat there, staring at her and without a word, she rushed around her room, grabbing a few things. “Miss Rosaline.”

“I have to leave.” Turning to her, she gave her a smile and hugged her. “Thank you but please. I need to get to Texas.” Sighing and nodded, they left, Rosaline getting in the back. Pulling out her laptop and paid for flight tickets, it wasn’t an hour later before she was in the air, on the way to Texas.

<after flight>

Gathering her bag, Rosaline stepped out of the airport, pulling up directions on her phone before walking towards the hospital. It was nearby anyway. As she walked, Rosaline couldn’t help but this of what might have happened. I’m sure it was that guy that David was staying with. I told him it wasn’t safe. How could he think it would be safe? Sliding between the group of news reporters, Rosaline made her way into the hospital.

“Rosaline Lalonde. I’m here to see David Strider.” She looked down at the nurse with dark eyes. Nearly shaking, the nurse mumbled out the room number and she left. It started as just a quick walking pace soon broke out into a full run. “Where is he! David Strider, where is he?” She yelled, turning down the hall to see a woman and a man standing outside of a room. The woman had started to speak when the door opened and a blonde man walked out.

They looked at each other. “So you’re the Rosaline.” He said a look of almost disgust on his face. Narrowing her eyes, Rosaline’s hand balled into a fist. “You. What did you do to him.” She growled. 

As he defended himself, claiming that David had been casing Dirk, she wanted to hit him. Never in her life had she wanted to hurt someone so much. They continued their arguing when the woman spoke up.

“You... look like Rose.”

Turning her attention to the woman, the hate in Rosaline’s lose its fire and pain resurfaced. Those pink eyes, unnatural and familiar to Rosaline. They were like Roxy’s. 

“I-.” No. She didn’t have time for this. She was here for David, nothing else. No one else. Shutting her mouth, Rosaline looked away from the woman and walked to Derrick, glaring at him before walking past him and into the room.

David was on the bed, covered in small cuts and bruises. He was sitting up, looking at the door, at her as she walked in. “Rosaline.”

Sighing in relief, she rushed to his side, taking his hands. “Thank God…”

“Rosaline-.”

“I heard and I knew he did something. I knew he wasn’t safe. I knew it. Why didn’t you listen to me.” David’s eyes widened. “What? No, Derrick didn’t do this.” 

“Look I know you really think he’s ‘Dirk’ but Dirk isn’t real. He’s just a dream, a hallucination from your lack of sleep and stress. That man is nothing but someone who is praying on your weakness. You..  you were right. Those years ago, you were right. Nothing good comes from Texas, nothing at all. I shouldn’t have told you to come back here. This is all my-.”

“Rosaline!” 

Her eyes widened, looking as David pushed himself to sit up, his eyes narrowed in angry. Actual anger. The door pushed up but neither one of them seemed to bother looking over at it.

“I get it! I get that you don’t trust him, that you don’t trust me but don’t you dare say he’s not real! Or that he hurt me because he didn’t. He had been taking care of me. Not a single thing he has done to harm me.” Letting out a shaky breath, all the anger seemed to fall away from David in a matter of seconds and he looked completely defeated.

His body started to tremble, like a small child but there were no tears on his face. Rosaline could clearly see the water droplets in his amber eyes but they wouldn’t fall. There were cracks in his walls but they wouldn’t fall, they never did. His walls were covered in cracks from the years but they have never broken. Those tears that had conquered the balancing act, sitting up on the edge of rolling down his cheeks but they never fell. Never once.

“I don’t care if you don’t like him, I don’t care. But he is my brother, I don’t care if you think I’m crazy but don’t you dare say that he isn’t real… Derrick has been the one thing that had made be feel more sane than I have in a long time.”

“David…”

He sighed, lifting his hands to rub his eyes dry. “Rosaline, please. You’ve been here all my life but Derrick is my brother. I need him just as much as I need him.”

Closing her eyes, Rosaline took a step back. She didn’t say a word, just looked at David before turning and walked out the door, pushing past the other three. She could hear Derrick’s voice as he moved closer to David but she didn’t look back.

Walking down to the hospital cafeteria, Rosaline grabbed a coffee and sat down, sitting at one of the tables With her fingers pressed against her temple, Rosaline shut her eyes.  _ How could he think this was a good idea? How could he possibly think that man isn’t the problem? This… this is all wrong. It’s just a dream… _

“Just a dream?”

Opening her eyes and looked up, her breath was knocked from her. Those pink eyes again. “What?”

“You were talking to yourself. Saying it something was just a dream. I’m guessing you have the same thing that we do-.”

“I don’t have anything!”

The woman fell quiet, looking at Rosaline with a sad look. “So you keep saying. But every time you say that you get this look in your eyes. It seems as though you are trying to talking yourself into believing your own words. The only reason I can think to explain that is that you do have the same thing going on but something had happened to make you not want to believe it.”

_ She has to a friend of that guy. Did she come here to try and talk to me on his behalf?  _

“There is something wrong with this.” Rosaline pushed herself up, glaring at the other. “This is all a problem. If it wasn’t for all of this, my best friend wouldn’t be back there, laying in a hospital bed from being hit by a car, trying to tell me that this crazy person isn’t the reason.”

The woman’s hand curled into a fist as her eyes harden. Rosaline had never seen that look on Roxy, it was strange. Seeing such gentle eyes that dark and angry.

“Don’t talk about him like that. Derrick had been through a lot but he isn’t crazy. He’s hurting and your friend is helping him. I’ve never seen Derrick care so much about someone but I know that is he could, he’d be the one laying in that bed, not David. I don’t know you or him but I know Derrick.”

Rosaline's shoulders fell, not having the strength to anger with someone else. Instead of continuing the argument, she fell back against the table, resting on it while looking up at her, holding her hand out to the woman. “Rosaline.”

The anger was still in her eyes but she seemed to understand whatever Rosaline had so she took her hand, shaking it. “Roxanna.”

They sat down and started talking, Rosaline told Roxanna about her writings but made sure to keep quiet about the dreams about Roxy. Roxanna didn’t hold back and told Rosaline about her scientific research, about Rose and everything. 

While Rosaline still didn’t trust the whole thing, she saw the same look in Roxanna’s eyes when she talked about Rose that she saw in David’s eyes when he talked about Dirk. It was almost the same thing that she felt when she thought of Roxy.

“Roxanna-.”

Rosaline stopped talking when the other stood, stretching. “We should be heading back.” Looking down at her coffee, Rosaline waved her off. “You go head. I’m going to stay here for a bit.” She didn’t look up to see the sad look Roxanna gave her. “Alright.” Before she walked away.

No one else was in the cafeteria so Rosaline sat there alone. Or at least, she thought there wasn’t. Not long after Roxanna left, she felt someone watching her. Lifting her head, all Rosaline saw was pink. After first, she thought Roxanna was back there was something off about the eyes. They were brighter, not worn down with stress like Roxanna’s were but they were also hazed over. These eyes belonged to someone else.

“Roxy.”

The girl sat a table away from her, one elbow on the table, holding another liquor bottle with her head resting against it. She was looking right at Rosaline, seeing her, just as she had in the dream not long before. 

“It’s kind of funny, isn’t it? You ignore it all, try so hard to keep from thinking about it, to keep from admitting it, but the second you see me, you call out to me.” There was a bite in her words, hitting Rosaline more than she thought it would be. 

“You know what this is but because it doesn’t make sense you try to forget it.”

“It’s dangerous. David is in the hospital because of this. Because of-.”

“Dirk didn’t go anything. Dirky would never. This him is clearly different but he would never hurt his brother. His brother is the most important thing to him. You can’t blame him for something that he would do anything to stop from happening.”

_ Everyone says that. That he wouldn’t hurt David, but it happened. He is why David is hurting. _

“Dirk had been all I had for a while too. He wanted nothing more than to actually meet his brother and here, he can. They both need each other, they’re brothers, but they will need you too.”

Rosaline shook her head, pushing herself up, knocking the chair onto the floor. “No!”

“You need to be careful, mom.”

It hit her again. Rosaline fell to the floor, her head bowed. She shook, just like David did when he tried to keep himself from crying. She tried but it broke through to quickly and the tears poured over. 


	20. A/N

If anyone is still interested in this, I would love some assistance. For personal reasons, I haven't been able to right that much of the next chapter and at this point in time, I have some time but absolutely no idea on where to go. If anyone has any ideas or suggestions, or just things they would like to see in the future chapters, message me either here or email me.


	21. Someone Can Help

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for not being around for so long. But I finally got some ideas, most came to me from a person who commented and helped a lot. They basically wrote their own chapter. Their writing was amazing and I wish I didn't make my mistake of deleting it. 
> 
> Thank you for helping me get through my block and getting me back into writing. Sadly, I still am unsure when the next chapter will be out after this one but I will try my best to get it out as soon as I can.
> 
> Enjoy the chapter.

It’s been only a few days weeks Jadelyn had moved in and things between her and her roommate had been more tense than she first thought they would have. Of course, either one of them wanted to admit it and both of them had a list of excuses to avoid the topic.

The biggest one was work.

Jake spent most of his time at the small gun store in the town, going about his day cleaning and taking care of the firearms, selling a few, and teaching the safety classes in the afternoons. And while he was at work, Jadelyn was off looking for a job. It took so time but she was finally got one at the small pet store. 

The only time they really spent time with each other was during dinner or the few of times they would go to the shooting range together. Those times, they would find themselves smiling more and leaving with a heavy chest and a sinking feeling in their stomach.

Tonight, Jadelyn was in her room, Jake was in the kitchen making dinner. They had barely said two words to each other that entire day, both of them having that heavy feeling in their chests and didn’t have it in them to try and talk through it.

Jake was off in his world as he cooked, his mind off thinking about his recent dreams. They were all of this little girl. She always had this wide smile on her face, her long black hair pulled up into a curly ponytail or pigtails. Seeing her was always a bittersweet time because she was always happy to see him but… her name was Jade. 

Sighing, he shook the thought away from him just when a high-pitched gasp rang through the kitchen. Turning around, Jake stumbled backward against the counter when a smaller body knocked into him, hugging him tightly around his middle.

“Gwampa!” 

No… oh no… Jake looked down at the figure, swallowing thickly when he saw the mess of curly black hair. No, she was just a dream. She wasn’t… 

Jade looked up at him, that wide smile plastered across her face, her buck teeth hanging over her bottom lip as she laughed softly. She opened her eyes, the green color that mirrored emeralds shining in the morning sun.

Jake wanted to hold her. He wanted to fall forward and wrap his arms around her small frame, hold her against his chest but he held himself back. No, he couldn’t. It was just a dream, all of it was just a dream. It couldn’t be real. And yet the longer that he stood there, just staring at her, the shine in her eyes started to fall away as tears started to gather in the corners, her eyes starting to glinted. 

He didn’t have a granddaughter but seeing the tears in her eyes felt like being stabbed in the chest. 

And she looked so much like Jadelyn. The girl that he wanted to get to know and talk to since she moved in but could never bring himself to do so. The girl that laughed and smiled. Who had bought small little plants and had them sitting around the apartment. The one who beat him in a shooting contest at the shooting range.

Or was that smile the one that belonged to his grandmother? The woman who Jake had loved all his life and kept her locker close to his heart, every memory he had of her was the gracefully aged face. The woman that raised him to be who he was today.

Jake was pulled out of his mind when the arms around him squeezed once more before letting him. Blinking a few times, he looked back down at her and noticed she looked just a little bit taller. Not much, she was still clearly a child but not a small as before. 

"I'm-m sorry Grandpa,” Jade whispered, still trying to smile at him. “P-please be careful. Something is going to happen soon.” She turned and headed for the doorway. Jake wanted to go after her but was frozen in place, watching as another figure appeared next to her. 

Messy black hair and dark emerald eyes filled with uncharismatic sadness and sorrow.

He looked everything like Jake and nothing like him at the same time. The same hair and eyes, though they held different feelings. Not to mention their built was completely different as well. The one standing beside Jade was tiny compared to him, looking like a tall child instead of the adult that Jake knew he was. 

The younger him ignored and focused on the young Jade, taking her hand with a bittersweet smile on his face. 

Jake stared at the pair, trying to get his words out but was pulled out of his shock when Jadelyn came running down the hall, her eyes wide and frantic as she focused on the yellow-clad boy. She reached for him, just as Jade had when the Jade had started walking away. The boy looked back at her and gave her the same bittersweet smile and they were both gone in a flash of life.

Tears broke from Jadelyn's eyes, rolling down her cheeks as she crumbled to the floor. Seeing the tears in her eyes made Jake think back to the small child that clung to him tightly just a little while ago.

He walked towards her and sat down next to her, practically collapsing down next to her and he leaned against her while hugging her. They didn't say anything about the tears or the kids, knowing that it was too much for them right now. 

During the few weeks they have been roommates, they haven't been this close. Jake felt like he was making up for it now, and what felt like a lot more. 

They stayed there for a while, holding each other and crying silently. Jadelyn sniffled and sat up after a while, rubbing her cheeks dry before looking up at him. Her watery moss eyes started up at her, her lip still trembling but she seemed to be out of tears for now. 

"Jake... h-he said that I, we, need to-."

"Be careful?"

Jadelyn swallowed and bobbed her head, a lock of her hand slipping from behind her ear and fell into her face. She didn't bother with pushing it back. "I don't understand. I haven't- /this/ hasn't happened."

Jake sighed, shutting his eyes for a moment and ran his fingers through his hair before moving his hand to press her hair out of her face. "I've seen her before. In dreams. I haven't seen anything like before either."

"...are we crazy?"

They fell back to the silence, just curled against each other. Jadelyn had her head resting against on his shoulder while Jake curled around next to him, one hand resting on the floor behind them to hold them up. 

"Maybe? I don't know. But if we've been seeing those kids for a while, I think this is more than just... some dreams and strange sightings."

Jadelyn chuckled, shaking her head a bit as she sat up from Jake. She pulled her legs underneath her and looked at him. There was a look in her eyes, something was running through her head, that much was clear. "You think so?"

Jake nodded, sitting up as well and crossed his legs. "I think so. Especially if they both told us that we need to be careful." 

"I don't know if this is anything... but if it is, I may have someone who can help us."


	22. Let's Meet Again

After the conversation with Roxy, Rosaline sat in the hospital cafeteria a little while longer. She knew she couldn't go back there and face any of them after what she just saw. 

Roxy's words still rang in her eyes. 'You see me, and immediately call out to me' 'but because it doesn’t make sense you try to forget it' 'be careful, mom.' None of her words made any sense but they still hurt. 

"Why Roxy... why do I need to be careful?" She mumbled, holding her head in her hands. Rosaline had got up from the ground, not wanting to be seen there in case Roxanna or a hospital worker came in. 

"Miss," She lifted her head, seeing a man standing in the doorway. He shifted his red and blue framed glasses while looking down at the clipboard he had in his other hand. "Visiting hours are almost over. So unless you're staying with a family member, you need to get ready to leave."

Sighing, Rosaline stood, picking up her empty coffee cup. "Thank you. But I'm staying with a patient." She tossed the cup into the trashcan, continuing to the doors and passed him.

As Rosaline continued back to David's room, she ran into Roxanna and the man she had shown up with. 

Roxanna broke into a wide smile, letting go of James' hand to walk closer to her. "Rosaline! You know visiting hours are almost over. Are you staying with David for the night?"

Swallowing thickly, Rosaline nodded while tensing up the closer she got. "Y-Yeah." She chewed lightly on her bottom lip, rubbing her hands together. "Has Derrick already left?" As much as she didn't like him, it was a little strange that they would be leaving so late if Derrick had already left. Could that mean-

"Oh, no. David had actually asked Derrick to stay while we were heading out," Roxanna laughed softly though it didn't last long as a look of worry formed in her eyes. "Rosaline, are you alright?"

She felt her blood run cold in her veins at the look.

"Of course I am!" Rosaline winced as Roxanna's eyes widened, her shoulders and her smile falling. "I'm sorry. Just... I'll see you later." She mumbled, lowering her gaze to watch her white tap against the glossy white tiles as she walked around them.

She turned the corner and stopped, pressing her back against the wall, her heart thumping quickly. She hadn't meant to snap at Roxanna but seeing that look on her face made her look even more like Roxy. She couldn't handle it.

The buzzing of her phone knocked Rosaline out of her thoughts. Shaking her head, she grabbed it from her back pocket, looking at the notification. A message? From Jadelyn?

\--gardenGnostic [GG] began pestering tentacleTherapist [TT]--  
GG: rosaline?  
GG: i need your help.  
TT: Jadelyn? What's going on?  
GG: do you remember those dreams i told you about?

Rosaline felt her heart leap into her throat as she read that sentence. No... this can't be happening to her too. 

TT: I do.  
TT: What about them?  
GG: well, i saw the boy in my dreams!  
GG: while i was awake.  
GG: and so did jake  
GG: only it was a little girl! she looked like me  
GG: her name was jade!  
TT: Surely it's nothing. Maybe something you ate.

She felt bad for trying to convince her friend that everything was fine but she couldn't help it. She didn't want Jadelyn in this too.

GG: i dont think so rosaline  
GG it... feels like more  
TT: Jadelyn  
GG: i know it sounds dumb! but it does!  
GG: somethings going on im telling you  
GG: i thought you would be able to help us but it seems like youre not...  
GG: bye rosaline  
\--gardenGnostic [GG] ceased pestering tentacleTherapist [TT]--

Rosaline sighed, shutting her eyes as she lowered her hand. She felt terrible. She knew that if Jadelyn really thought something was going on, she would most likely be freaking out and she needed help. And Rosaline just told her that he had nothing to worry about, that her problems weren't real. When she knew they were.

Pushing herself up from the wall, Rosaline continued to walk, wanting to get to David's room before someone saw her.

Pushing the door open, she stopped. Inside, Derrick was laying on the couch in the room, determined to fit on the small piece of furniture. For a split second, he reminded her of a cat. 

Both of them turned their heads to look at her, David's face lighting up while Derrick just frowned. 

"Rosaline?" David tilted his head to the side while staying to push himself into a sitting position. She smiled, shutting the door behind her as she walked to his bedside. "Lay back down, David. I was thinking about staying the night while you're here." 

She took his hand, squeezing it before walking around the bed to one of the chairs, sitting down. The next couple of hours were filled with awkward small talk, David clearly trying to get her and Derrick talking but didn't want them to try fighting. Soon enough he started to drift off, leaving them awake. 

It was only a few minutes before Derrick started to talk. 

"I know you think I'm the reason for this. That I'm a danger to him. But... there's nothing I want more than for him to be okay. He's everything that I've been missing from my life." 

Rosaline sighed, shutting her eyes as she ran her fingers through her hair. "You and I want the same thing." She murmured. "I've known him for a long time. We've been through a lot of things together. I just want him to be happy. And, if I'm going to be honest," She lifted her head, looking over at him. "You're not the one that's going to make him happy." Not wanting to continue, she pulled her legs up to curl into a ball on the chair, shutting her eyes.

[in dream]

Rosaline reopened her eyes, looking around a dark purple room. She was on the floor, resting against the wall with a window just above her. Everything in the room was different shades of purple; the walls, the bed, even her clothes- pajamas? 

What woke her up?

On the floor next to her was a (purple) laptop, a pesterchum room open. TurntechGodhead? 

\--turntechGodhead[TG] began pestering tentacleTherapist [TT]--

TG: its time

Her vision blurred for a moment as a wave of dread washed over her. Picking up her laptop, she pulled it closer, reading the message once more before typing.

TT: After you go, what do you think will happen to me?  
TT: Will I just cease to exist?  
TG: i dont know  
TG: i mean you whole timelines will  
TG: maybe  
TT: Maybe?  
TT: Is there a chance it'll continue to exist, and I'll just be here alone forever?  
TT: I'm not sure which outcome is more unsetting  
TG: rose

She sniffled, rubbing her cheeks roughly as her tears started to fall. She knew that he had to go but that didn't mean that she wasn't scared of what would happen to her.

TT: Do it.

Shutting her laptop and setting it to the side, she pulled her knees to her chest and buried her face into them. She was almost able to feel the seconds ticked away.

There was a tug on her chest and before she knew it, her body went numb and an explosion of a blinding white light shot out. A few drops of tears squeezed out of her eyes before she felt nothing.

[end of dream]

Rosaline's eyes shot open, her chest heaving as she gasped for breath. 

"Rosaline?"

She looked over at the bed, at David who was already wide awake. It was strange seeing him without his shades. Still trying to calm her breathing, Rosaline sat upright, stretching her legs out in front of her before standing and took slow steps over to him. "D-Did you...?"

A half sob left her when he nodded. She set down on the edge of his bed, and they collapsed into each other's arms, more tears spilling over their cheeks. 

Dreams of Roxy and Dirk had slowly started to get easier, the visions were still hurting them, but this? Dreams of themselves in another time, another world, it was too much for them. It was too much for Rosaline who had a part of her that was still hoping everything that was happened was just a dream. But that dream did set one thing straight for her.

She needed to message Jadelyn back. She needed to set things right.


End file.
